Chicken Coops for Sale in Ridgeway, West Virginia
Chicken Coops for Sale in Ridgeway, West Virginia
Cleaning the Chicken Coop; Fall Chores
Pallets leaned against Coop act as a wind break in Winter.
One of the chores I like to save for beautiful Fall weather is cleaning out the coop. I know that before I got chickens, I really wanted to see other people’s coops and how exactly they did things. So here is a look at my coop and the regular maintenance I have to do to keep my girls happy.
My coop is basically a chicken tractor made permanent. See how I built my chicken coop . It is only good to protect my egg laying divas during the night. I have to get up in the morning to let them out. Trust me they let me know if I am late. Late is after 8 am, so it is not like they start wailing at 5 o’clock in the morning or anything. They have a kind of wail that they only make when they want out. It is the strangest sound, kind of like a long drawn out moooooom , where are youuuuuuu? You have to hear it to understand.
Shoveling out the “raised bed” that my coop rests on.
To clean out my coop I have get someone to help me lift the coop off of the raised bed it is resting on. I have handles on either end, but it is too heavy for me to lift by myself. Thankfully my strong boys help me. Shoveling out all the old bedding and putting in new wood shavings is not too hard of a task, considering you only have to do it about 3 times per year. I empty out the nest boxes and add new hay to freshen things up. I heard for the first time the other day that it is a good idea to add crushed dried herbs to the nest boxes to make them more appealing to your hens. I tried crushed basil this time. Yes, hens are a constant source of amusement. They always want to lay eggs where everyone else is laying. I just have 2 nest boxes for my 10 hens. I call them nest boxes but they are a little unconventional. One is an old basket, the other is an old drawer. This time of year as we transition into winter the light wanes as the days grow shorter. You will notice your egg production reducing quite a bit. This is why commercial growers put a light on their chickens 24 hours a day; to keep their egg production up. Here at the homestead we try to work with nature instead of against it. That means more kale, less eggs. This is also the time that the rabbits really start producing well. While one thing lessens another takes it’s place. This probably wouldn’t work up north but I lean pallets against the coop to provide a wind break. A lot of people ask me if I need to provide a heat source for my girls when temps fall below freezing. The answer is no. It is important to make sure their water is unfrozen. Other than that chickens really do better in the Winter here than the heat of the Summer.
My hens checking out the new fresh nest box.
After the coop is all cleaned out it is time to add new wood chips. I get what is called a “Country Boy” which is farmer speak for a big packed bag of wood shavings. I get mine from my local feed store in Garland. When I first started chickens I used Fall leaves gathered from the curb. I like the shavings better because the compost turns out better, but oak leaves work out well as chicken bedding too. It is hard to see in the picture but the bottom of the coop against the ground is wire screen(yard cloth) to keep digging critters out.
My hens get very curious about all the changes taking place and come to check it all out. I put the old bedding into a bin and drag it to my compost. Thankfully I don’t have to go too far. I keep my compost in my chicken yard so that my hens can stir my compost and so that they can get the minerals they need to keep their egg shells hard. I put the cracked egg shells in the compost where my hens can gobble them up therefore getting the calcium they need to keep their egg shells firm. I also put other left over kitchen scraps in the compost for them to enjoy. Speaking of compost, a lot of people ask me about mine. Let me just say that trying to heat up a compost pile without manure of some sort is NOT easy. To heat up a compost pile without manure add fresh grass clippings. However right about the time fall leaves are readily abundant, grass clippings are NOT readily available. If you have read my posts at all you are probably sensing a theme; get an animal or a source of manure for your garden. Chickens or rabbits, even worms; your garden will thank you with beautiful veggies.
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Chicken Coop Out Of Pallets in Ridgeway, West Virginia
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Ridgeway West Virginia" into any one of the numerous search engines and a wealth of information will pop up. This information will provide links to other websites that will be informative and will provide the right direction for finding Ridgeway West Virginia chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Ridgeway, West Virginia With the big boost in chicken keeping there has been a just as large surge in the array of poultry stuff on sale. Poultry real estate is a case in point. It's also a traditional example of the great old bandwagon being got on as various prospective poultry real estate professionals market an array of lodging asserting to be the ideal option to your chicken real estate demands. Frequently the price looks attractive, the house looks eye-catching, hell even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Surely they understand a professional chicken house when they see one? There are numerous cheap and unpleasant coops flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've examined a variety of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed pail appeared. The result was only an expensive pile of fire wood as well as a little group of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Easy in Ridgeway, West Virginia
Typically these standardized versions are built of fast grown up hardwood - come the initial decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either barricading a door that will not shut, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking citizens. The initial warm and comfortable day suggests the hardwood dries out as well as cracks, the felt roofing bubbles and also boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens choose not to go in. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decrease of their once appealing apartment yet due to the fact that the hovel is now a place for, and probably crawling with, the fowl caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly match four large hens when that equipping thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and exactly what are you entrusted? A couple of hinges as well as some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds need to cost you around ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a big room as well as the pop hole doorway allows enough for the type you keep, after that the primary needs of housing come down to three factors which will specify the variety of birds your home will hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. A lot of breeds of chicken will perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off edges so the foot rests easily on it. The perch needs to be more than the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly likewise normally seek the acme to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they create the most poo) leading to stained eggs the following day. They should not however be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries could happen when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens need about 20cm of perch each (in small types this is clearly much less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in your house they ought to be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your home ought to have a least one nest box for every 3 birds and also these ought to be off the ground and also in the darkest location of your home. Your house needs to have sufficient air flow: without it then condensation will certainly build up every evening, also in the coldest of climate. Understand, ventilation works with the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving with a high space drawing cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a collection of holes on opposite walls of your home and at the very same degree, this is exactly what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run attached then the points above are still real, but you ought to likewise take into consideration the run size. The EU maximum lawful stocking thickness for a free array bird is (as well as let's encounter it, one of the motivations for keeping some chickens in the house is perhaps enhanced or much better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m squared. Take a close look at a few of the deal homes - it could well be the house has the right perches, right air flow and also enough nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You might assume you've grabbed a deal, yet you and also your flock could rue the day you did. Purchase the right house and it will certainly last for a couple of decades, otherwise longer given the right treatment. Ultimately your fowl and your fowl keeping encounter will certainly be considerably the far better for it.chicken diy
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